An article written by retired GP Dr Kailash Chand and published today in "Pulse" magazine.

I would argue that there is overwhelming evidence of a conspiracy to see off general practice for good, enacted by politicians from both major political parties over the past two decades. The agenda of privatisation started under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher continues unabated now with Theresa May.

And to privatise the health system, it is essential to dismantle the ‘jewel in the crown of the NHS’ – the current model of general practice. The groundwork to fragment general practice began with negotiation of the new GMS contract in 2004 by ‘New Labour’, under Tony Blair. The contract started a trend towards larger practices and federated models of working.

I can't say that I know enough about the way the NHS is organised, and what the alternatives might be, to comment. Other than the fairly obvious point that the combination of a steady increase in the capability and cost of medical interventions, an equally steady increase in the number of elderly patients requiring care for a longer period, and a steady decrease in the number of taxpayers funding the service, is unsustainable in the long run. Something has to give.

P.S. also, combining health with social care in some way sounds like a no-brainer.